Red Raider Football Notes Sept. 25

Snaps at quarterbackharder to come by

Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown was able to fulfill his preseason hope to get backup quarterback Michael Brewer a lot of playing time early. The redshirt freshman completed 23 for 34 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns, getting into all three non-conference games.

Now his playing time will likely diminish, for the obvious reason that Big 12 Conference games will be much closer. On Monday, though, Brown said not having a third quarterback with any experience is a factor, too.

“The thing that makes me nervous about playing Brewer,” Brown said, “he’s a good runner -- obviously a better runner than Doege, but we don’t have a ton of depth there. That’s what keeps us away from some packages and stuff for Brewer right now.”

Brewer quarterbacked 10 series in the first three games, leading the offense to two touchdowns and three field goals.

Brown said it’s the most extensive playing time he’s gotten a No. 2 quarterback, dating to Brown’s previous job at Troy.

After the weekend’s games shook out, idle Texas Tech moved up a spot to No. 1 in the nation in total defense — a far cry from No. 114, where the Red Raiders finished last year. Tech’s yield is 160.3 yards per game, but against Northwestern State, Texas State and New Mexico.

“We have talked to our players about that,” Tech coach Tommy Tuberville said. “It’s good to look and say, ‘Hey, we have improved and we are getting better,’ and we have. But to that extent — being No. 1 — I don’t know whether we are at that point or not, or even close. But we are not where we were last year at this time either. We’re probably somewhere in the middle.”

There’s no doubt Tuberville has seen some things he likes, though, especially single-game rushing allowances of 13, 129 and 84 yards.

“It’s good to have some success,” he said. “I think our guys are building confidence.”

Tech-OU kickoff set

Texas Tech’s Oct. 6 home game against Oklahoma has been set for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff with specific television coverage to be determined. The game will be televised by ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. That determination will be made Sunday.

Tech in the polls

Three of the 60 voters in The Associated Press Top 25 placed Texas Tech on their ballots this week, the same voters who included the Red Raiders last week. The three voters placed the Red Raiders at No. 21, No. 22 and No. 25, respectively, for a total of 10 points.